Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, July 2 vs. Chattanooga
Published on July 2, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp host the Chattanooga Lookouts in Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. contest. On a Community First Credit Union Two for Tuesday, tickets are 2-for-1 at the box office for Community First Credit Union members using their CFCU credit or debit card. Fans can also enjoy two for the price of one jumbo hot dogs or regular French fries or 12 oz. fountain sodas. The Jumbo Shrimp are also paying tribute to the $2 bill by paying the first 500 fans to Tuesday's $2 on $2 Bill Appreciation Day.
CHATTANOOGA BLANKS JACKSONVILLE 5-0
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were shut out 5-0 on Monday by the Chattanooga Lookouts at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Lookouts got on the board in the third inning when Michael Beltre scored on a wild pitch. Later in the frame, Jose Siri popped a two-run home run to make it 3-0. In the sixth, Siri homered again, another two-run bomb, to widen the gap to 5-0. Chattanooga starter Packy Naughton pitched 6.2 scoreless innings, scattering two hits and two walks while striking out seven. Wyatt Strahan pitched the final 2.1 frames to seal the blanking for the Lookouts.
ABSOLUTE ZERO
Jacksonville fell 5-0 to Chattanooga on Monday, the Jumbo Shrimp's 19th shutout loss of the season. That figure is more than double than that of the next-closest Southern League squads (Mississippi and Mobile, each with nine). In fact, Jacksonville has 58.3 percent more zeroes than Triple-A Iowa, High-A Florida and High-A Palm Beach, the teams that are tied for the second-most blankings in Minor League Baseball with 12. The 2018 Jumbo Shrimp led the Southern League with 16 blankings, and this year's club is nearing the circuit record of 25 set by Asheville in 1970.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE
Jacksonville infielder Joe Dunand came into play on June 9 with a dormant season batting line of .209/.275/.262. However, in the 20 games since then, the Miami native is for 23-for-68 at the plate, slashing a robust .338/.408/.500 with eight doubles, one home run, five RBIs and seven walks. A product of N.C. State, Dunand has dropped his strikeout percentage from 29.7 percent with Jacksonville in 2018 to 23.0 percent this year. However, his ground ball rate has shot up from 32.4 to 45.7 percent.
CLOSE TALKERS
Throughout every level in the history of baseball, nearly every team expects to go about .500 in games decided by one or two runs. However, the Jumbo Shrimp have posted a combined 17-29 (.370) record in games determined by two runs or fewer. Interestingly, 15 of Jacksonville's last 20 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. The Jumbo Shrimp have won 10 of these 15 contests.
25 OR SIXTO 4
Jacksonville right-hander Sixto Sanchez will make his 10th Double-A start in Tuesday's contest against Chattanooga. The 20-year-old native of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic seems to have started figuring out the Double-A level in his last three starts. During that span, Sanchez has ceded just three runs, all earned, on 16 hits in 20.0 innings for a 1.35 ERA. He has fanned 23 against three walks over this run. Sanchez is slated to participate in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. After posting a 23.9 and 5.9 percent strikeout and walk rates, respectively, in 46.2 innings with High-A Clearwater last season, Sanchez has registered a 25.4 strikeout percentage and 4.2 percent walk rate in 52.0 frames with Jacksonville this year.
MILLER HIGH LIFE
Jacksonville outfielder Brian Miller has reached base at least once in 36 of his last 38 games, going 49-for-146 (.297/.394/.411) with nine doubles, one triple, 13 RBIs and 13 walks during this span. On the season, the Raleigh, N.C., native ranks fifth in the Southern League with 81 hits, tied for 10th in stolen bases with 13 and 10th in batting average at .288. A former North Carolina Tar Heel, Miller is pulling the ball at a career-high 46.4 percent clip while going the opposite way a career-low 22.1 percent of the time, the ninth-lowest such mark of the 136 Southern League hitters with at least 70 plate appearances on the year.
'PEN PALS
An unearned run in the 10th inning on Sunday in Montgomery halted the Jumbo Shrimp bullpen's scoreless innings streak at 14. Having said that, the last time a Jacksonville reliever yielded an earned run was on June 25 - a span of 21.2 frames. Over the last 18 games, Jumbo Shrimp relief pitchers have tossed 63.0 innings with just six runs, five earned, for a 0.71 ERA. During this 18-game span, the Jumbo Shrimp's bullpen has collectively surrendered just 29 hits (4.1 H/9) while whiffing 63 (9.0 K/9) against 20 walks (2.9 BB/9). A big part of the success for Jacksonville relief pitchers has been their ability to retire first batters; on the season, the club's bullpen has retired 75.3 percent of first batters faced, several ticks above the baseball-wide average that hovers around 70 percent.
Southern League Stories from July 2, 2019
- Four-Run Fifth, Strike-Throwing Pitching Guides Shuckers to 4-3 Win - Biloxi Shuckers
- Play One Note: Jazz Chisholm's First-Inning Double Holds up in 3-2 Win - Jackson Generals
- Blue Wahoos Blank M-Braves Again on Tuesday - Mississippi Braves
- Isabel Leads Charge with Slam in Win - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Errors Prove Costly in Barons 6-3 Loss to Smokies - Birmingham Barons
- Fleming Bags Five Hits, But Shrimp Rally Falls Short - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Southern League Northsiders Down Southsiders, 6-3, in Kodak - Knoxville Smokies
- Generals Clip Biscuits, 3-2 - Montgomery Biscuits
- 2019 Biloxi Shuckers Playoff Tickets on Sale Now - Biloxi Shuckers
- Generals Gameday: July 2 vs. Montgomery - Jackson Generals
- Mitch Nay Named Southern League Player of the Month - SL1
- Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, July 2 vs. Chattanooga - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Dobnak Stars in Shutout Win - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
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